Abstract

This article reprints the text of a review of adam smith's "theory of moral sentiments", And presents arguments for ascribing it to david hume. Hume's subsequent criticism of what he called "the hinge" of adam smith's moral system ("viz." that "all kinds of sympathy are necessarily agreeable") is also examined, And it is argued that smith failed to appreciate the nature and extent of this criticism. It is concluded that "the hinge" of smith's novel theory is a false assumption; yet without it smith cannot present a viable alternative to hume's explanation of the origin of our moral sentiments